What Colors Do Trout See Best? Facts You Can Exploit Today

Can fish see in color? A debate has been going on for a long time about whether choosing specific colors is really that effective in trout fishing.

So, what colors do trout see best? Trout see colors like red, orange, and yellow best in clear waters. In darker waters, yellow and green are better choices. At night, you should go for black and use contrast in your lure to be visible for trout that can’t discern colors at night

Keep reading to know more about how trout see colors and the best trout lure colors to improve your fishing experience.

Table of Contents

What Colors Do Trout See Best?

Trout can see all colors but in a different way from what we do.

Given that the water is a poor light conductor, it distorts the nature of the color depending on how much light it absorbs depending on its wavelength or color.

Long-wavelength light, colors like red and orange, get quickly absorbed and fade to black, while short wavelengths like blue and purple are absorbed more slowly.

Red appears brighter to trout than it does to humans at a closer look, but it turns black at a greater distance.

Going for red, orange, and yellow are the best choices in clear water as these colors are visible and catchy. In darker waters, yellow and green are better choices because they stand out well in brownish muddy water.

The trout cone cells allow it to perceive color only in clear, shallow water. The full detail of color is seen only at a close range.

The ability to detect color becomes completely eliminated within 12 feet (3.6 meters). Shades of blue, then red, and then green shades are more distinguishable to trout from further distances.

What Color Are Trout Attracted to?

Trout are attracted to any color that matches their forage, such as white, gold, brown, green, black, silver, pink, orange, yellow, and red. In muddy, unclear water, go for yellow and green. In clear waters, go for red, orange, and yellow.

When you want to decide what lure pattern or color to use for trout, it’s important to remember the old saying “match the hatch”. Using colors and patterns that imitate trout’s forage is undeniable in getting successful strikes from trout any day, any time.

What Are The Best Colors For Trout Fishing?

There are lots of options you can choose from when picking the best lure color for trout, so I made you a list with the best color lures and when it’s best to use them.

Trout Fishing Lure Color Selection Chart

Color	Best Way to Use for Trout Fishing
Black	– In muddy water – In Deepwater – Night fishing
Orange Red Yellow	– Clearwater – Shallow water – Sunny days
Yellow	– Muddy water – Cloudy days
Brown	Combined with another natural color to be used anytime
White	– Cloudy days – Night fishing
Green	Muddy water
Chartreuse Pink	Deepwater
Blue Purple	– Muddy water – Deepwater – Cloudy days

You can get creative and make combinations of two or more colors to imitate a specific pattern. Combinations like Chartreuse and white or red and white can produce contrast that works in any light.

If you’re not sure about what type of lure to use, check out my guide for the best lures for Trout.

Does Color Matter When Trout Fishing?

Colors matter in trout fishing, or any other fishing, because you need to know what appeals to your target to be able to catch its eyes.

If you use the wrong color, you may miss your chances of getting a strike the whole day, even if you jig your arm off.

Picking the color for trout also depends on various factors you should consider to get satisfying results.

Water Clarity

Water is a poor light conductor that can absorb much of the lure light (color), which causes the intensity to decrease and the color to change. When the water is not clear, the light becomes more absorbed and scattered when it enters decreasing the color intensity more and more.

Red and orange are the best colors for trout lures and flies in clear water. Combinations like Chartreuse and white or red and white produce the most contrast and stand out, especially in the shallows.

In muddy water, it’s better to use dark-colored lures because they contrast well with brownish water and can be easier for trout to see. Lures in black and green really stand out in brown water. Other colors may not be visible in muddy waters.

The best bait choice for muddy water is dark-colored nymphs. For example, the dark peacock body of the prince nymph contrasts well with the brown water and allows it to stand out more while its soft wings allow it to imitate the movement of many different insects, making it the ideal choice for catching trout.

Pro Tip

Add artificial material like tinsel that reflects polarized light when fishing at night.

Fluorescent colors like green, chartreuse, and pink can also provide greater visibility under the water as well as reflects some of the ultraviolet radiation that strikes it as visible light. And since UV radiation can travel a greater distance underwater, fluorescent colors can be very effective in fishing for trout.

Depth

Colors like red and orange work best when you’re fishing in shallow water. If you’re fishing on a sunny day, you can try using flashy and reflective lures that can shine in the water to catch the trout’s attention.

If you’re fishing deep in the water, it’s best to go for darker colors like black, blue, and purple. The darker colors help the lures stand out as they provide contrast, making it easier for trout to detect your lure. Using white can be a great bet as well; it contrasts nicely with the darkness of deep water.

You can also check out my other article about whether fishing kayak color matters to learn more about how colors affect your fishing experience.

Can Trout See in The Dark?

Short answer: Yes, trout do see at night, and you can catch some spectacular catches at night, check out my complete trout night fishing guide here.

Trout’s eyes have photoreceptors in the retina: cones and rods. Cones respond differently to light of different wavelengths, and are responsible for color vision, while rods optimize vision in dim conditions to allow them to perceive the world in darker circumstances.

While trout can see in the dark, their ability to see color at night is eliminated as they switch from using cone cells to rod cells to be able to see in the dark, then black becomes the most visible color, making the best lure choice the ones that use contrasts, not color.

Unlike humans, trout use only one type of receptor at a time. They either use the cones or the rods, and the overlap at dawn and dusk can be an exception as they become able to use both.

The cones are used during the day, allowing sharp, full-color vision, while rods work the night shift turning the vision into black and white with better perception in the dark.

Can Trout See You?

Trout can see humans. When objects on the surface or beyond first appear in the window of vision or come in view on the edge of the circular window of vision, they appear much shorter and wider than they actually are.

This could be one of the reasons why trout get easily spooked if they detect you from above.

The more you get closer to the center of their window of vision, the less distorted you’ll look to a trout. You gain your natural form in their eyes when you get closer. Objects directly overhead appear exactly as they should.

Another interesting thing about trout vision is that objects on the surface are a backlight from the fish’s perspective, appearing mostly as a silhouette as if you’re looking at someone standing with their back to a window on a sunny day. This happens because the refractive index of its cornea is almost exactly that of water, allowing trout to see more clearly through water than air.

I have made another complete post just about whether trout can see you; you can check it out for more info on the topic (yes, there is a bit more to it).

What Colors Do Trout See Best? Facts You Can Exploit Today